Ignoring God’s Message

Several times in Exodus, Moses went to Pharaoh and shared the same message from God – “Let my people go, so that they may worship me”. Each time, Pharaoh chose to ignore God’s message. Up to this point, he had already seen nine different plagues come upon his land and his people because of his stubbornness. Pharaoh had endured the plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness. Each time, Pharaoh was told in advance by Moses exactly what was about to happen with the plagues, and each time Pharaoh saw that the plague happened exactly as God said it would but he still failed to believe. It seems almost incomprehensible how Pharaoh could have witnessed all of God’s great power and yet still refused to listen to Moses, but the fact is that Pharaoh had decided even before the plagues started that he was not going to listen to God. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, meaning he refused to change or repent regardless of the situation. He was unable or unwilling to accept that anyone or anything was more powerful than he was, and his stubbornness would eventually cost him dearly.

We are all faced with the opportunities to ignore God’s messages on a daily basis. When people are presented with all of the evidence in the Bible but still refuse to accept the Good News about Jesus Christ, they are ignoring God’s message. When others hear the Gospel and want to accept it but are unable to put their full faith and trust in Jesus, they are ignoring God’s message. When we are convicted of sin and know that we should stop but we continue on, we are ignoring God’s message. Sometimes people allow their hearts to become so hardened that they are unwilling or unable to change. This is not something that happens all at once – it is a progression that evolves over time until eventually people are unable to hear God’s voice at all. Like Pharaoh, people can reach a point where they have turned so far away from God that no amount of evidence can bring them back. This is one of the reasons that sin is so bad for us. Even when we consider a sin to be “small” or “inconsequential”, we must realize that these sins can build up and harden our hearts. We have the benefit of hindsight when looking at Pharaoh’s story. We know how it ends and we are able to see the consequences of repeatedly ignoring God’s message. Protect your heart today. Do not allow it to become hardened by ignoring any of God’s messages to you. He will continue to speak to us, but it is up to us to stop and listen.

During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.